


Probably in Love

by ErrantPelican



Series: A Natural Progression [1]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Cute, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Love Confessions, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-02
Updated: 2015-06-02
Packaged: 2018-04-02 13:50:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4062343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ErrantPelican/pseuds/ErrantPelican
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kagami often muses on how his and Kuroko's relationship has changed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Probably in Love

**Author's Note:**

> This is basically just a bunch of kagakuro headcanons turned into a fic. 
> 
> Also I had such a hard time writing the summary for this fic and even now I'm not really happy with it, but hopefully it is fair as far as the fic content actually goes?
> 
> My writing style in this fic is...interesting, to say the least. I was going for introspective over anything else, and I'm not sure it came out clearly enough. :/ For real though, this is basically half contemplation and half action I don't even know how this happened.
> 
> I think I write too much in these notes.

There had never been a defining moment where Kagami felt the world shift and everything change. His life, his relationship, had moved along so smoothly and _naturally,_ that each new step seemed to be nothing but an extension of the step before it. Kagami supposed it was lucky that their relationship was built upon such a strong foundation of friendship, as he credited this for why the transition to something more made so much _sense._

It seemed sometimes that it was more likely that he and Kuroko were two halves of the same whole rather than two entirely separate people. Where Kagami was brash, Kuroko was calm. Kuroko was clever while Kagami was very straightforward. Kuroko could never seem to finish a full meal, but Kagami never seemed to need to stop eating. The balance struck between the two, once it was established, felt as if it had always been there.

If Kuroko was the shadow to Kagami’s light, then it was just as true that Kagami was the ocean to Kuroko’s moon. Always being pushed and pulled by the movements of the other, Kuroko’s goals motivating Kagami himself to work toward greater things. He would never say this to Kuroko, of course. Kagami himself couldn’t even put it into words, this feeling of his and Kuroko’s separate worlds revolving around each other, so closely and so in sync with each other that at some point, they must’ve combined to create a single universe.

No, there had never been a defining moment where the proverbial lightbulb had blinked on in Kagami’s head. There had been no specific moment when he’d happened to glance over at Kuroko while they were eating together at Maji Burger, when they’d been watching a game on tv together on Kagami’s couch, when they were playing one-on-one after practice, and realize exactly how important Kuroko was to him.

Kagami wondered sometimes if Kuroko felt the same. He wondered if the switch from teammates to friends to…something Kagami couldn’t yet name was as gradual for his shadow as it was for himself. He wanted to ask sometime, see if Kuroko’s thoughts matched with Kagami’s own memories. There were a lot of things Kagami wanted to ask Kuroko.

Kagami knew they were nothing more than friends through their first year of high school. He _thinks_ they were only friends throughout almost all of their second year. The first time he can remember wondering if maybe there was something more between them was at the beginning of the summer break of their third year. Despite long, grueling practices, Kuroko followed Kagami home nearly every day. Every day, Kuroko shifted just a few centimeters more to the left when he sat down on Kagami’s couch.

Kagami always sat in the same place, but he liked to think that he had noticed Kuroko’s shifting as soon as it started. He noticed it every day until suddenly, it stopped. Scant inches separated Kagami and Kuroko for days with no sign of Kuroko moving close enough to touch, and Kagami realized that maybe he _wanted_ to touch.

As much as he had despised the oppressive summer heat just days ago, now he couldn’t concentrate on the television for want of knowing exactly what Kuroko’s smooth skin would feel like pressed against his own. Kuroko would be warm, he was sure, pressed up against his side. Kuroko had put a lot into not-so-subtly working his way into Kagami’s space, but now it seemed it was Kagami’s turn to show he felt the same.

He didn’t even have to think about it before moving over to meet Kuroko halfway.

Every day after that, the boys sat at the very center of the couch, arms pressed together, the calming touch of the other taking priority over trying to escape the heat. Kuroko fell asleep sometimes, after particularly difficult practices on particularly hot days, and every time, his head fell to the left to rest lightly on Kagami’s shoulder. Every time, Kagami refused to move—no matter how much his stomach grumbled in protest once dinner time came and passed—until Kuroko woke up on his own. Every time, Kuroko apologized profusely for inconveniencing his friend while Kagami looked on with a blush and a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of his neck as he invited Kuroko to stay for dinner, since surely it was too late for him to go all the way back home to eat.

Every time, Kuroko accepted.

On the days when it truly was late and Kuroko was yawning, eyelids drooping even as he sat on one of Kagami’s wooden kitchen chairs, Kagami would heat up whatever leftovers he could scrounge from the fridge, not wanting to keep Kuroko awake longer than strictly necessary. But on the days when Kuroko managed to rouse himself from slumber closer to the time when Kagami would normally have his dinner, he’d cook a meal for his friend. It didn’t take him long to learn all of Kuroko’s favorite dishes. Of course, Kuroko complimented and thanked him for every meal, never being able to finish the generous portions served to him, but eating with a strange, determined energy, as if he wanted Kagami to be sure to know the food was appreciated. Kuroko never told him through speech which dishes were his favorites, but Kagami could tell when he saw Kuroko’s eyes grow just a little wider, the corners of his mouth perking up just so, that Kuroko was delighted even more than usual by the food he was eating.

Kagami found that the ingredients in his cupboards and leftovers in his fridge were now more suited toward what Kuroko favored than Kagami’s own tastes.

On leftover nights, when Kuroko faceplanting into his food from exhaustion really was a possibility, Kagami always offered his apartment as a place for Kuroko to stay the night. About half the time, Kuroko declined, stating that his family would worry if he spent yet another night out of the house, and he also wasn’t keen on overstaying his welcome in Kagami-kun’s home. The rest of the time though, Kuroko agreed without argument that it really was too late, and he really was too tired, so of course he would stay at Kagami-kun’s.

Whether he agreed to stay the night or not, Kuroko offered to help Kagami clean the kitchen after their meal. On the nights he would be leaving, Kagami refused the help, not wanting to keep Kuroko even later than he already had. When Kuroko planned to stay, Kagami always sent his shadow off to shower instead, cleaning the kitchen while he waited for Kuroko to return.

Kuroko’s timing truly was impeccable, finishing his shower just in time to pop back up in the kitchen just as Kagami was putting away the final dish, making the taller boy jump in surprise every single night. Of course, Kagami grew used to it quickly, but he still feigned surprise, even when he sensed Kuroko’s presence long before finally turning around. He wasn’t sure if his acting was so good that Kuroko truly thought he was still being scared or if Kuroko enjoyed their little game just as much as Kagami so he kept playing along, but either way, the routine continued.

Kuroko would read then, or sometimes watch television when he was especially exhausted, as Kagami showered. He knew Kuroko would likely be napping lightly on the couch when he emerged, so he always took his time, enjoying the feel of the water cooling his skin, washing off the sweat from the summer heat. He’d think about Kuroko, dozing on the couch, and wonder what he ever did to deserve someone so amazing in his life.

Kuroko always called Kagami his light, and maybe this was true when they were on the court together, but any other time, Kagami found Kuroko shone even more brightly. It was sometimes so intense that Kagami found it hard to look at him and even harder to understand how Kuroko could ever refer to himself as a shadow. It was undeniable that Kuroko still had a low presence, and he practically abused his misdirection skills with how much he enjoyed startling Kagami, but Kagami found that even when he didn’t know exactly where Kuroko was, he still sort of _did_.

His contemplations usually ended there, with the occasional wondering whether Kuroko had fallen asleep yet or not thrown in at various points, as he left the shower and dressed, making a detour to his own bedroom to lay out the guest futon before fetching Kuroko.

They took turns on who slept in Kagami’s bed and the futon. Kuroko hated making Kagami leave his own bed for Kuroko’s sake, while Kagami insisted the guest should take the bed. Switching off was the only compromise that made sense at the time until suddenly, it didn’t make so much sense anymore.

It was Kuroko’s night on the futon, and when Kagami reluctantly climbed into his bed, Kuroko crawled right in after him. While unexpected, this development, Kagami realized, was the opposite of unwanted and had probably been inevitable from the start. At least now he wouldn’t have to spend the time taking out and putting away the guest futon four times a week.

They never talked about it…it was simply a shift in their relationship into what was truly “something else.” Kagami hesitated to name it, because despite sitting with their sweaty arms pressed together on the couch, despite them spending each night after that cleaning the kitchen together, fingers brushing lightly whenever one of them passed a dish to the other, despite them shifting closer and closer to each other in Kagami’s bed every night until Kuroko’s head had found a permanent home on Kagami’s shoulder and their limbs ended up so tangled by the end of the night that it always took some effort to separate, nothing else seemed to have changed.

They were still partners on the basketball court, of course. Kuroko still didn’t hesitate to punch him when Kagami got too hot-headed, and Kagami still found himself being startled more than he’d like to when Kuroko misused his power of misdirection off the court. Kuroko still found humor in bringing Nigou to practice occasionally, despite the dog's now much larger size, to taunt Kagami-kun, and Kagami still pretended Nigou made him nervous to entertain his smaller teammate.

Kagami didn’t notice them touching more than they used to. They didn’t talk to each other differently. But it wasn’t as if they were hiding how they acted in the confines of Kagami’s apartment. The two boys who shared a bed more often than not were not any different than the two supportive teammates on the basketball court.

Though he didn’t have proof, Kagami felt that if anyone else ever joined Kuroko and him in watching television in his living room, Kuroko would still lean against his side and not hesitate to drift into sleep if he was so inclined. They weren’t hiding, Kagami knew. They just saw no need to display any additional closeness in public.

They began to shower together soon after they first started cleaning the kitchen together for no reason other than that it made more sense to do so. There was no point to wasting water, Kagami reasoned, and besides, it saved time in the long run, allowing both boys to get a few extra minutes of much needed sleep.

Kagami often wondered if this habit indicated they were dating. He’d have to ask Kuroko at some point, but for now, he didn’t think it was necessary. Whether they were dating or not wouldn’t change much, and he really enjoyed the feel of Kuroko’s soft hair between his fingers on the rare occasion that the shorter boy allowed him to rub in the shampoo. He didn’t want to lose this new closeness by asking unneeded questions, he thought to himself as Kuroko rubbed soap over his back.

\---

It took months before they first kissed. School had started back up, so Kuroko’s nights spent at Kagami’s apartment were cut to exclusively weekends, much to the unvoiced displeasure of both boys. They made the most of those weekends, barely leaving each other’s side. It happened just after showering, while Kuroko was tugging on an old, worn t-shirt of Kagami’s to sleep in. He turned up his head to speak but before Kuroko could even get a word out, Kagami had swooped down and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

Kagami hadn’t planned it. He hadn’t even thought about it, if he were completely honest with himself, but after it was done he didn’t regret it. Kuroko didn’t seem to either, though his face burned bright red as he began to say something about an occurrence at the practice earlier that day, squeaking slightly on the first word and having to clear his throat before continuing. He didn’t mention the kiss and neither did Kagami. Despite Kuroko’s bright red face (and really, Kagami was sure the color of his own face must’ve rivaled Kuroko’s in that moment), nothing felt as if it had changed.

That night, as they lay with Kuroko’s head resting on Kagami’s shoulder, arms curled against his chest as Kagami’s own arms hugged that small body close to his own, Kuroko spoke again.

“What are we, Kagami-kun?”

Kagami was tempted to play dumb. Of course, he knew exactly what Kuroko was asking, but he was still scared that putting a name to what they were would make all of it go away. Surely though, Kuroko would know Kagami was lying, and Kagami wanted to get this over with quickly if the outcome ended up being what he feared.

“I don’t know,” he said breathlessly. “What do you want us to be?”

“You are my best friend. I appreciate and depend on you and—” Kuroko cut himself off with a small cough.

“I—ah. I feel the same, you know,” Kagami said, turning his face away from Kuroko, squinting at the wall instead. “I…don’t really know what I’d do without you.”

There was a rustle beside him as Kuroko braced one hand on the bed and one on Kagami’s chest to lift himself up. Kagami could feel Kuroko’s gaze piercing into him, though he refused to turn his burning face to meet it.

“Kagami-kun.” And now Kuroko was using his serious voice, the tone he’d use when calming Kagami down on the basketball court or when trying to motivate his team.

It felt like a reflex when Kagami turned his head, red eyes meeting blue, and his breath caught briefly at the intensity of that gaze.

“Kagami-kun,” Kuroko repeated. “I think I’m in love with you.”

Simple, to the point. Kagami wouldn’t have been able to picture Kuroko confessing in any other way, and he wouldn’t have wanted to.

“That’s good,” Kagami sighed. “Since I think I’m probably in love with you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> What even are tenses. We just don't know. (Or, I think I switched between past and present tense about fifty times and couldn't figure out how to fix it while editing, so I'm very sorry.)
> 
> It was kind of strange writing in Kagami's point of view, honestly, since I felt like I should've been explaining things more, but at the same time didn't think that Kagami would explain them to himself. It was a hard balance to find between the two, and hopefully I managed to pull it off.
> 
> I might make this into a series (though it likely wouldn't have more than 3 parts if I do so), since I had wanted to add a lot more onto it, but just couldn't bring myself to write beyond the last line since I thought it would take away from the fic as a whole. So, I might explore the other things I wanted to talk about in this fic in other fics. I'll have to see how motivated I get, lol.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you liked the story, even though it's basically just headcanons. I'd appreciate a kudos or comment if you enjoyed it. <3


End file.
